ADVANCED (C1/C2) EFL Lesson Plan on Advertising & Manipulation: Warm-up

Questions
1) How often do you see or hear advertisements in a day?
2) Can you think of any memorable ads?
3) Do ads influence your behavior or decisions? Have you ever made a purchase
because of one?
4) Have you heard of Apple’s famous 1984 ad?
5) What themes or values do you associate with the company Apple?

Pre-Listening: Match the vocabulary to the correct definitions before watching the
video.

1. manipulate (v) a. silly, foolish

2. daft (adj) b. the perfect example of something
3. flirt (v) c. to behave as if you are attracted to someone
4. meta- d. to throw something with a lot of force
communication (n) e. the process of arguing against something that has
5. twiddly bits (BrE been said
slang) f. nonverbal cues (like tone of voice, body language,
6. hurl (v) etc.)
7. mallet (n) g. small, decorative or unnecessary details or features
8. reflect (v) h. to represent/express something (esp. about a
9. epitome (n) person's character)
10. astonishingly (adv) i. elements in a message that provoke strong emotions
11. counter-arguing (n) j. to control someone cleverly, usually to your
12. emotive content advantage
(phrase) k. in a way that is very surprising
l. a hammer with a large, usually wooden head

Comprehension Questions: Pre-read the below questions. Then write your answers
after watching.

1. What emotion did the Renault Clio ad actually evoke in viewers?

2. What message was the Apple 1984 ad trying to convey?

3. How does the Huawei ad featuring a Gnu play with viewers' emotions?
 4. Why does Robert Heath think the Huawei ad is nonsense?

5. What two strategies does Heath recommend for resisting the influence of ads?

 BBC Ideas Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v5WfzyR7Zzk (4:38) (BrE)

Follow-Up: Discussion Questions

6. What is the main message that Robert Heath is trying to convey about advertising
and emotions?
7. Overall, do you agree with Heath’s assessment?
8. Is it true that reputations last forever?

Speaking Activities: The Cold Call and the Pitch

Step 1: Student-A runs a business. Select a business type: Bakery, Custom Furniture
Maker, Private Tutoring, Personal Trainer/Yoga Instructor, Event Planning,
Restaurant, Other: ______

Step 2: Student-A’s business is slowly growing. It does not have an advertising

budget; it relies on word-of-mouth advertising from existing customers to get new
business. Pick a role to roleplay below.
Student- Your business is finally making a little bit of money, which is great
A because you don’t have a lot of extra money to spend. Soon, you will
(Busines get a call on your phone.
s Owner)
Key expression: If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. (Meaning: There’s no need
to change things if they are working)
Ad Your ad agency needs new clients. You have noticed Student-A’s
Agency business provides a good service/products, but would benefit from
Rep. advertising. Call the owner on the phone and convince him/her of the
benefits of hiring your agency.

Key expression: We can help your company tap into new markets.
Step 3: In small groups, spend ten minutes designing a TV ad for Student-A’s
business/products. Consider the below elements in your design.

 Target audience:
 Ad storyline:

Meta-communication Elements

 Setting:
 Music:
 Characters:

Main Message or Tagline:

Step 4: When ready, pitch your ad to Student-A.

Advertising & Manipulation: Analyzing Classic Commercials

Discuss the below ads in a group. Optional: Fill out the below table for each
commercial.
Coke Old Spice Budweiser Dove

Target
audience:

Setting:

Music:

Emotion/Tone:

Symbols/
Imager
y:

Main
Message:

Advertisement Regulation: Reform Committee

You work for the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA). A recent public survey
revealed that the advertising industry has several issues including:

 False claims about products, leading to unrealistic expectations for consumers.

 Use of manipulation or emotional appeals that target children, the elderly, or
other groups.
 Lack of clarity about paid and celebrity endorsements, making it difficult for
viewers to distinguish genuine recommendations from paid promotions.

Task: Your committee must present recommendations to improve advertising in your

country. Some ideas are given below. Discuss them and add your own. When ready,
present your plan to the prime minister.
 Increasing penalties for false  Require that ads contain a “fact-
claims check” section
 Make an ad rating system like for  Ban all advertising for one month
movies (G, PG, PG-13, R, etc.) every year
 …  …

Bonus Roleplay: Unmet Expectations

Custome You recently ordered a hamburger after watching a TV
r commercial. You have two problems: 1) the burger
looks nothing like the advertised product, and 2) the
ad claimed it was “The best burger in the nation”.
After eating most it, you strongly disagree.
Complain to the owner. Try to get your money back.

Key Expression: This is the epitome of false

advertising.
Restaura You run a burger restaurant. You have the best
nt Owner burgers in the country. It looks like a customer wants
to speak with you. S/He’s holding a burger, which they
have eaten most of.

Key Expression: If you didn't like it, why did you eat
so much of it?

Vocabulary Review: Insert a phrase into the blanks from the dialogue in the video.
1. In most cases, _________ , even though that ad would never have
daft
actually been seen by them on air, they know about this ad.
flirting
2. … an advertising campaign featuring a couple of _________ French
 people, Papa and Nicole.
twiddly bits
3. … the girl running down this aisle… and she _________ the _________
hurls
through the screen.
mallet 4. … what you're looking at is two people _________, being terrifically
sexy.
reflected
5. Meta-communication are all the _________ —the music, the
epitome
characters, the setting, the storyline...
astonishingly 6. if you look at the _________ in the ads, if you listen to the music,
you can say, "Ah! I know what you're trying to do."
counter-
7. … Apple being the defender of the people, and the defender of
arguing
freedom, of course _________ into Steve Jobs, who became the
emotive
_________ of the defender of the people.
content
8. We're not used to _________ the emotion in advertising.

Final Discussion Questions Collocation Review

1. Which of the commercials that you watched 1. meta a) bits

today would you say are unethical? 2. twiddly b) audience

2. If you had a company, how would you get 3. counter c) endorsements

customers? 4. word d) communication

3. In Cuba, there is a national ban on 5. If it ain’t e) new markets

advertising. What is your opinion of that? broke, f) advertising

4. Why does purchasing products make people 6. tap into g) don’t fix it

happy? 7. target h) argue

5. Are online ads worse than televised ones? 8. celebrity i) of mouth

9. false advertising